Greener CVS

Alternative powertrains and automation make an interesting route to greener CVs.

- Bhushan Mhapralkar

Yadav drives a CNG version of the Tata Ace for the pharmaceutical chain Noble in Mumbai. A closed body construction, the vehicle travels across the city to supply medicines to the pharmacy chain for the better part of the day. Almost every alternate day, it travels to Pune to deliver medicines to the Noble chain there. Better and more drive-able than the diesel variant, according to Yadav, the CNG Ace is proving to be reliable and productive. It is supported ably by the CNG infrastructure in Mumbai and Pune. A part of Noble’s strategy to deploy CNG vehicles over diesel, according to Yadav, in the interest of efficiency and cost, the CNG Ace has run a good 78,000 kms already. It was bought a little less than a year ago. An example of a shift taking place in urban regions where CNG is available, the factors that are attracting operators towards it are new technologies like turbocharging, light-weighting, low friction components, and higher capacity engines. These are empowering CNG CVs to perform better, prove to be efficient and reliable. The most interesting part of the equation perhaps is that they are turning out to be as drive-able if not more than their diesel variants. Averred Yadav, that he finds the CNG Ace to be more driveable than the diesel variant. In a BSVI scenario, the new generation of CNG CVs is paving the way for a greener future, especially when the cost and efforts to upgrade diesel CVs is amounting to a significant portion. In fact, the advent of BSVI is said to push many CV manufacturers to kill their diesel CVs in the SCV and LCV segments. In their place, CNG CVs and petrol ones are being promoted.